Material Prayers and Maternity in Early Modern Italy: Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Abstract

Fu in Siena, al tempo che reggeva l'officio de' Nove, una gentil giovane di pochi anni andata a marito, e quelli figliuoli che facea, facea con grandissima pena e fatica; e al presente era gravida di sette mesi; e come paurosa, ognora cercava di leggende di santa Margherita, e di medicine e di brievi, e d'ogni altra cosa che credesse che li giovasse alla sua passione.1 ,* ∵ Novella 217 of Franco Sacchetti's Il Trecentonovelle begins with a young married woman, seven months pregnant, who had undergone much pain and frustration to have her previous children.Afraid for her own well-being, as well as that of her unborn child during the pregnancy and birth, she seeks out 'legends of Saint Margaret, medicines, brevi, and every other thing' .2In other words, all the usual items available to a pregnant woman to allay her fears and pain.How might the resources used by the young woman in Sacchetti's story illuminate actual practices and objects in early modern Italy, thus allowing us to better understand women's lives?1 'There was in Siena, when the Officio de' Nove governed, a polite young woman who had been married only a few years, and the children she had, she had had with the greatest pain and exertion; and at that moment, she was seven months pregnant; and as she was afraid, she continually sought out legends of the life of Saint Margaret, and medicines, and brievi, and every other thing that she believed would help her through her suffering': Sacchetti Franco, "Novella CCXVII" in Il Trecentonovelle, ed.E. Faccioli (Turin: 1970) 666.

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